Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a tissue-sampling device, and more particularly, to a biopsy device insertable through a working channel of an endoscope or bronchoscope.
Description of Related Art
For various medical reasons, e.g. diagnostic tests, it is often necessary for a physician, surgeon or other medical practitioner to obtain a sample of a patient's body. During these sampling or biopsy procedures, the samples may be taken from a variety of organs and other soft tissue, or from a more rigid structure such as a bone or bone marrow.
There are a variety of medical procedures to obtain a tissue sample. For example, an endoscopic procedure commonly referred to as an endoscopic biopsy procedure, is often used to obtain tissue samples within a patient's body. During an endoscopic biopsy procedure, a sample of a target tissue is removed from a patient with an endoscopic biopsy device having a tissue acquisition element. The endoscopic biopsy device may include an endoscope having a lighted camera on a distal end that is used by the surgeon to view the target tissue during the biopsy procedure. Other devices or systems for visualizing the sampling procedure may also be used. For example, any radiographic, fluoroscopic, or other navigational or guidance modality, may also be used for visualizing the sampling procedure.
In certain devices, the biopsy or tissue acquisition element may be passed through a catheter that is separate from the endoscope having a camera thereon. Likewise, other devices may also be inserted through or around the endoscope.
In another example, a bronchoscope is used to assist in obtaining tissue samples within a patient's body. In such a procedure, a bronchoscope is inserted into a patient's airways through the patient's nose or mouth. A typical bronchoscope includes an illumination assembly for illuminating the region distal to the bronchoscope's tip, an imaging assembly for providing a video image from the bronchoscope's tip, and a working channel through which instruments, e.g., diagnostic instruments such as biopsy tools and/or therapeutic instruments such as ablation probes, can be inserted.
Bronchoscopes are limited in how far they may be advanced through the airways due to their size. Where the bronchoscope is too large to reach a target location deep in the lungs, a catheter or extended working channel can be extended out of the working channel to navigate to the target. A sensor, either attached to the catheter, or formed on a locatable guide (“LG”) passed through the catheter may be utilized to navigate from the end of the bronchoscope to the target location. That is, the sensor together with a navigation system, enables the position and orientation of the sensor to be tracked as it is advanced through the airways. One such system is described in U.S. Provisional Application No. 62,020,240, titled “System and Method for Navigating Within the Lung”, filed Jul. 2, 2014, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
When an LG is used, the LG/catheter combination is inserted through the working channel of the bronchoscope and into the patient's airways. Once the combination LG has been navigated to the target location, aided by the position and orientation tracking provided by the navigation system, the LG may be retracted through the catheter, leaving the catheter in position. As noted above, the catheter is often referred to as an extended working channel (“EWC”) because it effectively functions as an extension of the working channel of the bronchoscope.
Once the LG has been retracted from the EWC, the EWC may be used as an avenue for guiding working tools, e.g., biopsy tools, ablation probes, etc., to the target location. During a biopsy, a sample of the target tissue may be taken using a biopsy brush or a needle when performing Fine Needle Aspiration procedures. Following sampling of the target tissue, the tissue sample is removed from the patient and examined. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist or chemically analyzed using, for example, gas chromatography techniques.
Depending on the target tissue and other physical conditions or circumstances, sampling of internal tissue may be difficult or may require skill to quickly and efficiently obtain an adequate tissue sample to permit proper examination by a pathologist or other medical practitioner.